pizza

Deep Dish Sausage & Bacon Pizza

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There are some great food blogs out there, and with a mere 39 food blogs in my Feedly I know that I haven’t even scratched the surface.  I keep discovering new ones and it’s so much fun to see the yummy and creative things people come up with and the amazing photos people take of their food!  It’s both inspiring…and a little frustrating!  Where do you find the time to make a meal in the middle of the day and photograph it so it looks beautiful?!

I came across Seasons and Suppers a few months ago and it never disappoints.  The recipes always look and sound delicious.  While some are totally approachable, others are those I plan to just drool over from afar rather than attempt myself.  But this recipe for deep dish pizza was something I knew I had to try.

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This pizza crust is crazy delicious and has a terrific chew thanks to the cornmeal.  I didn’t make the pizza sauce from the original recipe, but plan to sometime!  It seems simple and delicious.  I used the sausage and bacon called for in the original recipe, but you could use any toppings (I guess they’re more like fillings in a pizza like this) that you like.  Jennifer says to add a layer of pepperoni for a meatier pizza…genius.

I wouldn’t bake this ahead of time, it’s best right out of the oven, bu there are some things you can do to make dinnertime less stressful.  Cook the bacon and the sausage and slice the cheese (if you need to) earlier in the day and store in the refrigerator.  You can also do those things while the dough is rising.

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I topped our slices of pizza with some fresh basil and a little extra parmesan.  Paired with a green salad you have a dinner that won’t disappoint.  Unless someone you’re serving doesn’t like pizza, in which case I’d reconsider your friendship…but not really…but maybe.

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Check out Seasons and Suppers, you will not regret it.  Thanks for the recipe, Jennifer!

Deep Dish Sausage & Bacon Pizza

From Seasons and Suppers

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

Dough

  • 3/4 cup warm water (about 100°F)
  • 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup cornmeal
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon sugar

Pizza

  • 12 ounces Italian sausage, cooked and drained
  • 4-5 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced
  • 14 ounce jar of pizza sauce (or make your own)
  • Freshly grated Parmesan for topping, at least 1/2 cup, plus a little extra
  • Freshly chopped basil for garnish

Directions

Dough

  1. Combine warm water, yeast and a pinch of sugar in a small bowl.  Mix together then let sit for 5 minutes until it’s foamy.
  2. Fit your stand mixer with the dough hook.  Combine 1 cup of the flour with the cornmeal and sugar in the bowl of the mixer.  Add in the yeast mixture and stir on low to combine.  Stir in the oil.  Add in remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until dough holds together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
  3. Oil a large bowl, then transfer the pizza dough to the bowl, cover with a clean towel and allow to rise for about an hour.

Pizza

  1. Preheat your oven to 425°F.
  2. Grease a cast iron skillet with olive oil, then lightly dust with cornmeal.
  3. Flour a clean work surface and dump out the pizza dough.  Knead a little to bring it together in a nice ball.  Then roll it out in a circle just larger than your skillet.  Fit the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the skillet.  Tuck excess dough underneath or trim it off.
  4. Cover the bottom of the pizza with a layer of mozzarella cheese, but don’t use it all.
  5. Layer the sausage and bacon next, followed by the rest of the mozzarella.
  6. Pour the pizza sauce on top, then sprinkle with the parmesan cheese.
  7. Bake the pizza, uncovered, for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes check the crust, if it is getting too dark, then cover the pizza with foil and bake for 5-10 minutes more.
  8. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing or removing from the skillet to a cutting board to slice.
  9. Serve sprinkled with some fresh basil and extra parmesan.

Butternut Squash, Spinach, Caramelized Onion & Goat Cheese Pizza

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I made this in December, back when butternut squash was a more appropriate and more seasonal ingredient but life gets ahead of me sometimes (and by that I mean ALL the time) so it is just now making its way onto the blog.  So bookmark for the fall, or ignore all that stuff you hear about seasonal eating and make it anyway!

This was one tasty pizza.  With all these yummy ingredients, how could it not be?  I love every single thing on top of this pizza on its own and together they are just perfect.

I found this recipe in my search for vegetarian dinner options on epicurious.  If you or someone you’re cooking for needs some meat, add some crumbled bacon for some meaty flavor and a nice crunch.  This really is a great vegetarian pizza with such terrific flavors that you won’t miss the meat, or at least I didn’t.

The trick to making this without finding yourself with an incredibly messy and hot kitchen at the end of the day is to prep all your vegetables earlier in the day and refrigerate them.  Roast the squash, caramelize the onions and saute the spinach all before lunchtime (or the night before if you’re doing this on a work day) store them all in separate tupperware or plastic bags and they’re ready to go on the pizza for dinner.  Prepping has become the key to dinnertime sanity for me.  And it’s smart for working folks, stay at home parents or people who just despise cleaning a bazillion pots and pans after having enjoyed their meal.

I used a store bought pizza dough ball (you can sometimes find these in the freezer section of your grocery store) but making your own is not too hard if you plan ahead.  I used this recipe for pizza dough not too long ago and it was easy to make, easy to work with and tasted great.  I followed the instructions up to the baking.  Instead of pre-baking and freezing my crusts, I divided the dough into 4 balls (keep it in one ball for one large pizza), placed them on a greased baking sheet, covered lightly with a piece of plastic wrap sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and put the pan in the fridge until I needed them (about 4 hours).  When I was ready, I formed them into crusts, topped them and baked them.  Once you get the hang of it, pizza dough at home is really easy.  If, like me, you didn’t have the foresight this time around to make your own dough, a frozen one is good.  Make sure to thaw it out overnight in the fridge, or on the counter for a few hours in its original packaging so it doesn’t dry out.

When I made this pizza I had a large squash, so I cubed the entire thing (probably ended up with 4 cups) and roasted it all.  You can use any leftovers tossed with some cooked pasta and goat cheese for a simple vegetarian pasta dinner, or you can use it at meal time for your toddler (which is the direction I chose to go).  The instructions below are for roasting just 2 cups, so if you plan to roast all your squash just increase the oil and seasonings.  It might also take more time to get a good roasted color if your pan is more crowded, so stir the squash and check them for tenderness every so often after the 25 minutes of cooking time recommended below.

My biggest problem with pizza is getting it from the pizza peel or cookie sheet onto the stone in the oven.  Here is a sweet and humorous home video (not my own) that shows you how to do it.  The trick is to do it quickly and use enough corn meal so it slides easily off the peel.

Note:  You may not use all of the onions or spinach.  Just add to the pizza what looks good to you.  Enjoy!

Butternut Squash, Spinach, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza

From epicurious.com

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cubed butternut squash
  • 1 6-ounce bag of baby spinach
  • 1 medium sized yellow or red onion, halved and thinly sliced
  • 6 ounces of goat cheese
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil
  • corn meal
  • 1 ball of prepared pizza dough, thawed if frozen
Directions
  1. Roast the Squash:  Heat oven to 400°F.  Toss cubed squash with a drizzle of olive oil just so it is lightly coated, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper.  Spread out onto a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes until squash is tender and lightly browned, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking and to brown squash more evenly.  Set aside or cool and put in a container and into the fridge if you’re baking the pizzas later in the day.
  2. Saute the Spinach:  Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add a teaspoon of chopped garlic, let cook for 30 seconds, then add spinach and a pinch of salt.  Saute, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted down and most of the liquid has evaporated, 8-10 minutes.  Spread a few paper towels on a plate and pour the spinach onto the towels to drain some of the liquid.  Set aside or refrigerate in a container.
  3. Caramelize the Onions:  Heat a medium skillet over medium high heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Add onions, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper.  Cook, stirring, for 10 minutes until onions are light brown.  Add 2 tablespoons of water and cook an additional 5 minutes.  Onions should be very soft and brown in color.  Set aside or refrigerate.
  4. Heat oven to 450°F and heat your pizza stone or you can use the back of a cookie sheet, but don’t preheat the cookie sheet.
  5. Take your pizza dough and either roll it out on a floured surface using a rolling pin or use your hands to stretch it out into a round.  You should have either a 15 inch circle or a 10 by 16 inch rectangle.  Lay your dough on a pizza peel or the back of a cookie sheet coated with corn meal.
  6. Brush olive oil on the outer edges of the crust, then top the pizza with the squash, spinach, onions, crumbles of goat cheese and thyme.  Transfer pizza to pizza stone or place cookie sheet in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes until cheese is melted and crust is lightly browned.

 

Chicken And Fennel Flatbread Pizza

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Fennel in one of my favorite vegetables.  The flavor of fennel is quite similar to anise, but they are not the same vegetable.  It is delicious raw, sliced in a salad.  It is completely different in flavor when cooked in a casserole, like this potato and fennel gratin which is quite tasty.  It is incredible roasted with other vegetables when the edges get a bit crunchy and caramelized and the flavors mellow.  Fennel leaves look like dill in their delicate, thin, wispy green appearance.  These leaves are used as an herb.  The fennel bulb is used as a vegetable.  Fennel is one of the main ingredients in original absinthe.  I love fennel.

The use of fennel in this recipe is what caught my eye on the Eating Well website.  Yes.  I am posting yet another recipe from the site.  Everything I’ve made so far has been wonderful, so I’ll keep trying things until I hit a bump.  Then I’ll back off, but not until I find something that doesn’t make me want seconds.

These pizzas are not greasy or overly cheesy.  The vegetables add great flavor, and the chicken is much better for you than pepperoni or sausage.  There isn’t any sauce on the pitas, which I thought would make them a bit dry, but they were not even close.  The little bit of cheese goes a long way and you don’t miss the sauce.

I changed the recipe just a bit.  I added salt, pepper and minced garlic to the chicken before cooking it, and I cooked the vegetables and chicken separately.  On two of the pizzas I used feta cheese instead of provolone and sprinkled some red pepper flakes on the finished products.  A combination of provolone and feta would be better since feta doesn’t melt very well.

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